An Apple on a Tree
by ohmytheon
Summary: Life has changed since Ochako's betrothal to Izuku was announced, but she still isn't sure why the head of House Toshinori chose her - until she overhears an enlightening conversation. (A prequel to "What the Heart Wants", GoT AU)


**Notes:** I was given the prompts "Arranged Marriage" + "Accidental Eavesdropping" + Izuocha. People have been asking that I write more of that GOT-inspired Izuocha ship, so I thought that this was the perfect way to appease both. Hopefully, the person enjoyed the prompt since I used it to my advantage. The title is taken from the song "You Picked Me" by A Fine Frenzy. I might turn this into a series of one-shots if people keep giving me prompts for this, not sure.

 **Disclaimer:** Don't own shit.

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It had been a week since Ochako's betrothal to Izuku had been announced and she was anxious. The royal court had been buzzing ever since word had spread like fire through it that the Toshinori heir had found his match. In truth, most of the negotiation had been done by Lord Yagi himself and her parents, as almost every betrothal was made. The ones intended usually had very little to do with the act itself.

Ochako still found it hard to believe. When she'd come to this court with Tsuyu to be one of Princess Fuyumi's many attendants, she had known that she would need to secure a husband here. The royal court offered connections that her homeland could not. Her parents had done their best in trying to find her a suitable match, but it had been difficult. Her mother had done her best to shield their only daughter from the truth, but she had still managed to find out that more often than not, they had been turned down. She had been turned down.

And then, during a visit that had sent her parents into a panic, Lord Yagi had come to them asking on his heir's behalf if Ochako's hand was spoken for and if they could come to proper terms. It had been a dream that she still wasn't sure happened.

After moving to the capitol city, Ochako hadn't been afforded the opportunity to visit her home very often. The roads could be dangerous for anyone, especially a maiden. She knew how to use a sword much better than the average lady, but it was best not to chance it, so she remained mostly at the castle and the city it resided in, writing as many letters home as she could. She missed her parents greatly and she knew that Tsuyu missed her large family as well, but their time here was for the best.

When Izuku had mentioned that Lord Yagi had to travel to the east part of the kingdom in order to meet certain highborn lords and they needed someone familiar with the area, her heart stuttered. There were very few with that knowledge except for her and a handful of others. She hadn't been sure what those meeting had involved, but had agreed to accompany them as long as the princess approved, especially since one lord lived fairly close to her family. When she had shyly brought it up, Izuku immediately offered to safeguard her there.

In the end, the entire company had joined them on their visit. The raven she had sent to the Uraraka castle had likely sent the whole place into a flurry, but by the time they reached it, she had been shocked. She'd never seen the castle in such a state before. They'd pulled out all the stops, hoping to look better than they were. If Toshinori or Izuku had realized it, neither one of them had said anything. When Lord Yagi took the opportunity over dinner to propose uniting their Houses through a marriage between Ochako and Izuku, she'd thought her mother might faint.

A month later and Ochako still wasn't certain she wouldn't faint. They had agreed to terms that night, but decided not to officially announce it until they returned to court from their journey. Those three weeks on the road had been both excruciating and wonderful. Being away from the royal court had been more freeing than she could've imagined and Izuku had opened up in a way that she'd never seen him do in the capitol. With no scrutinizing eyes, he laughed louder and smiled more.

She knew better than to expect any real love between an arranged marriage, but there could be fondness at least and she was fond of Izuku. He was an excellent match. She knew that he wouldn't hold her back and the fact that he was the sole heir to one of the largest families meant that she had elevated her family far better than she could've ever imagined.

Of course, that made her question why Lord Yagi had chosen her. It was the number one rule to create matches that would elevate both Houses, but especially the man's. Besides giving the Toshinori House ties to the east, which they had completely lacked before, the Uraraka House could not give back in terms of money, land, crops, animals, or people. Their land held a unique access to the mountains, but that was it in terms of position.

The only thing that Ochako could think was that she was convenient. Lord Yagi must have noticed that she and Izuku were on good terms. Because she came from a smaller House and had no brothers, her family would not attempt to takeover the Toshinori wealth through her. By betrothing Izuku now to her meant that a lot of pressure was taken off his shoulders as well. There had been plenty of lords trying to shove their daughters at both of them, even Lord Yagi, in hopes that he might get a child and would bump Izuku to the side and give his title to one of his own blood.

There was plenty of gossip to be heard in the royal court. Ochako had heard her fair amount, but she'd only had issues of it concerning her a few times. She knew that she wasn't of the highest standings and was perhaps Princess Fuyumi's lowest attendant, although Fuyumi did favor her quite a bit. Still, it was best to ignore any whispers. She knew what many of the lords and ladies thought: that Izuku could do much better and was lowering himself to marry her.

" _Such a shame,"_ they would whisper with her not-quite out of earshot. " _The girl won't know how to handle such a large estate. It'll be a mess."_

Maybe Ochako had never managed a castle so large, but she doubted that any of those ladies had done so on their own before without a steward at their side, which she _had_ done.

It was late in the evening in the castle. Ochako should have been asleep, but her mind was too restless after the events today. Between the announcement, their duties here, and all the ladies of the court simultaneously hounding her for details and mocking her behind her back, she'd had very little time to actually spend with her betrothed. Before, it had never been such a big thing, spending time with Izuku, but it felt like so much more now. In three months' time, they would be wedded and, as the saying went, bedded. It left her feeling as if there were butterflies floating around in her stomach - or wasps. She couldn't be certain sometimes.

Instead of waking up Tsuyu like she should have, Ochako had thrown on a robe and put on a pair of soft slippers so that she could take a brief walk through the part of the castle that she'd lived in for so many years. She was utterly familiar with these hallways, but there was something about walking them at night when the moon cast its unearthly glow through the windows that made her feel both at peace and like she was in an entirely different place altogether.

Maybe she hadn't been paying to where she was going, but the second she heard voices around the corner, she halted. At first, she thought it was one of the Gold Cloaks. She didn't mind the knights that guarded the castle and city, but there were times when some of the men acted too familiar with her when no one else was around. She knew that she was considered one of the lowest highborns of the court, but there was no need for such behavior.

However, there was something gentle about the voice around the corner that caught Ochako's ears and a second later she realized why. It wasn't a gold cloak. It was Izuku. Her heart jumped, but then stuttered again when she heard another voice and realized that not only was he not alone but he was in the company of the crowned prince.

"I thought that I would no longer be hounded and questioned once the betrothal was announced," Izuku was saying in a tired voice, "but it appears as if it only strengthened them."

"There is a sense of urgency now," Prince Shouto replied in his flat tone.

He always sounded so unimpressed or bored, even though Ochako knew that there was so much more behind that. In her time with the princess, she had come to know her siblings too, including her youngest brother, who was closer in age to her. He had been the first one in the castle to find out that she knew how to spar with a sword, having walked in on her in the armory. She'd been so humiliated and ashamed, thinking he would scold her, but he hadn't. Izuku had been impressed by her skill as well, though surprised.

"What is there to be urgent about?" Izuku asked. "The decision has been made."

"It's true that you and Lady Ochako are betrothed, but you're not wed," Shouto pointed out. The fact that they were talking about her - about hers and Izuku's betrothal - put Ochako on edge. She had asked Izuku very little about his thoughts on the matter, not wanting to appear to forward or nosy. It sounded silly, but she had been afraid of doing something or displeasing him in any way that might bring the betrothal to an sudden end. Hearing Shouto pick out the weakness in their betrothal made her even more nervous. "There is still time to change Lord Yagi's mind on his decision."

"He won't," Izuku said in a firm tone that lifted Ochako's spirit.

"How can you be certain?" Shouto asked. "You know that I'm not one of them, but there are many that believe this betrothal is proof that he needs to abdicate his position on the Small Council."

"Along with his decision to raise a bastard like me up to be his heir?" Even though Ochako couldn't see him from her spot around the corner, she heard the grin in Izuku's voice. At one point, it had made him uncomfortable and awkward around the other highborn members at court, but after living here for so long, he'd grown into his role better than most highborn heirs. He took his duties very seriously and never slacked off on learning or working. He was the opposite of pampered, unlike many highborns, but carried himself with confidence instead of arrogance.

"No one questions him on that any longer," Shouto told him. "You belong here."

"I'm not so sure about that," Izuku hummed thoughtfully, a hint of humor in his voice.

"Katsuki Bakugou's opinion doesn't count," Shouto replied.

"That's _Lord_ Katsuki," Izuku shot back with a laugh. "You should've heard him this morning when he brought up my betrothal. I accidentally called him Lord _Kacchan_. I thought he was going to explode."

Shouto sighed deeply. She had known the prince for years and had heard him laugh maybe once and even though she couldn't be certain. Still, Ochako had to put a hand over her mouth to keep from giggling and giving away her presence. Having grown up underneath him and even working for House Bakugou at a time, the fact that Izuku was considered to be on the same level as Katsuki, the Bakugou heir, was endlessly frustrating for the latter and a great source of both entertainment and stress for the royal court. The two of them were like oil and water when put together.

"Nonetheless, Lord Yagi is under great pressure to reconsider his decision concerning your betrothal," Shouto continued. "How can you be so sure that he won't change his mind? Lady Ochako is agreeable on all terms, but House Uraraka is not, well… The match does you little good."

"He won't," Izuku reassured him, "because it was not his decision. It was mine."

There was a pause so long that Ochako stopped breathing. She still had a hand over her mouth in case she made any more noise, a good thing as well since she gasped. The betrothal had been Izuku's decision? Such a thing was unheard of. Maybe they were allowed to give input, but more often than not, those involved had little power to choose who they married. The fact that Lord Yagi had been left the decision up to Izuku and then he had chosen her…

Ochako's cheeks flooded red. She had no idea how to react to that.

Apparently, neither did Prince Shouto. "You chose your own betrothed?"

"I probably should've spoken to it with Lady Ochako first, but I knew that she was in need of a match and it was making her anxious and the trip out east came rather abruptly," Izuku explained. He was starting to ramble as he sometimes did when he was either lost in thought or speaking directly without thinking at all. "I thought...out of everyone at the court...she would be the best match."

"You're embarrassed," Shouto said.

Izuku must have been blushing too. "How do you feel when Lord Yaoyozoru or Lord Utsushimi corner you or your father about their daughters?"

"Point taken."

"Can we finish this conversation later?" Izuku asked with an "or nerver" unspokenly tacked on at the end.

"Of course."

Ochako quickly realized that the conversation was both over and they were walking in her direction, so she rushed away and rounded another corner that would take her towards the kitchens. Luckily, since she was wearing slippers, her footsteps were muffled and went unnoticed. Her heart was racing from both escpaing and the conversation.

Lord Izuku had chosen her! He'd considered her to be the best match. But why? At the end of the day, what could she offer him that any other lady count not? By the time she returned to her bedchambers, she felt so tired from overthinking that she collapsed in her bed without even taking off her robe or slippers. Now things really felt like a dream. He'd picked her out of all the others. She didn't know what that meant and she was scared to be happy, but… Maybe just this once she could allow had been one week since her betrothal to Izuku had been announced and Uraraka was anxious.


End file.
